Character Contest 7: Spellslinger

Your challenge for this week is to design the best character that fits the concept of "Spellslinger". That may be a classic long-bearded fantasy wizard, or a magic-using robot, or a beguiling Fairy (no, Whit, you can't use any of the ones from the other contest, make some new ones!), or a teenaged warlock, or a be-robed cantripping chimp, or a post-apocalyptic biker witch, or something else no one in their right mind would ever think of. Just make it look good, make sense, and make it make me say "Cool!" when I look at it.

The rules are simple:

  1. All entries must be left as a comment to this post, consisting of whatever commentary you like and a link to the image hosted on a publicly-viewable website somewhere (i.e. ImageShack, the UGO Forums, PhotoBucket, Facebook, whatever);
  2. No manipulation in any image editor like Photoshop (except for cropping);
  3. You must use some version of HeroMachine (though frankly the HM3 Alpha probably gives you your best shot).

That's it! The contest winner will get to choose to have either a caricature of his/her face or an item of their choice included in the final HeroMachine 3 version for everlasting immortality (as opposed to that nasty short-term immortality). The contest is for one week, the winner to be announced next Tuesday.

Good luck everyone!

99 Responses to Character Contest 7: Spellslinger

  1. DJ says:

    Before I start. Thank you for this. I have stories written about this.

  2. DJ says:

    Oh and because you used the term spellSLINGER and because I can’t get through a full contest without creating this

    http://s670.photobucket.com/albums/vv67/FamilyPhotoBucket1_2009/?action=view&current=SpellSlinger.png

    A Spell”Slinger”

  3. flaming-monkey says:

    these is my characters at http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=59212&d=1244582037 and http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=59182&d=1244493558 . i didnt know if you could only submit one so i decided to throw both of these in. thats all.

  4. Matt says:

    @Hammerknight: Wtf?!

  5. Isia says:

    @Hammerknight. you always manage to make me laugh.

  6. Kaldath says:

    Ok Jeff I have a question. Normally characters enter in previous Heromachine.com contest entries are not allowed to In future Heromachine.com contest. Now here is my question I won Way back when the HM Patriotic Hero Conest with Britannica done with HM2.x now obviously that pic is not allowed in this contest(right?) But what about the newly done HM3 version of the character ? .. on the off chance he is allowed here is my first Entry.

    Entry #1) Descendant of Arch Wizard Merlin and British Sorcerer I present Britannica – http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll49/Kaldath/Britannicav35.png

  7. Jeff Hebert says:

    Sure thing, new versions of old characters are perfectly fine.

  8. Haydnc95 says:

    Ok, not the best ive ever done! but again, not many female items

    http://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww20/haydnc95/NoName.jpg

  9. Kaldath says:

    Entry #2) When an armature archaeologist discovered an prehistoric temple he was possessed forever by the entity known as Mastera. This evil spirit now made flesh wields both sword and sorcery in its attempt to dominate the world. – http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll49/Kaldath/Masterav3-1.png

    Entry #3) Warriors Team Member and Wizard The Midnight Mage – http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll49/Kaldath/MidnightMageHM3.png

  10. Whit says:

    Haydn, that’s good! You need to start giving yourself more credit. 🙂

  11. Al says:

    Here’s my Doom Sorcerer.

    http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/6398/doomsorcerer.jpg

    Yes, I know he kinda looks like a male Raven. So sue me.

  12. Matt says:

    @Damien. Sorry I just fought I’d say this before I forget, but I have just been through the random creations on your site and I’d like to say that your Red X (Although I’m sure it’s XIII) is really awsome, and that your Fierra reminds me of Freya from FF9 (btw just incase you have forgotten I love the Final Fantasy series).

  13. Tim K. says:

    Mhalfurneas the Lich, long thought deceased, he returns!

    http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/5161/mhalfurneascopyi.jpg

  14. Isia says:

    Watch me pull a rab…erm…something outta my hat.

    http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=59221&d=1244593997

  15. @ Matt: Fierra actually predates (as an idea, anyway) Freya from FF9 AND her more feline counterpart from FFX.

    And yes, Red X was a Red XIII ripoff. I admit it. But it was a good sketch that I put in Illustrator and turned into that. (Though I would do it differently now….)

  16. RJ_McD says:

    jeff and Dam i have a guy i want to enter * i will keep trying till i drive you nuts * but the saving glitch makes him way to small any ideas how to fix this i worked really hard on him

  17. Jeff Hebert says:

    RJ, just do a screen capture. Your OS has one built in, it’s the PRINTSCREEN button in Windows and COMMAND-CTRL-SHIFT-4 on a Mac. That saves the screen to your clipboard, open an image editor and paste it in. Complete instructions in the FAQ.

  18. RJ_McD says:

    thanks mighty jeff 😉

  19. RJ_McD says:

    http://s727.photobucket.com/albums/ww278/RJ_McD/?action=view&current=frank2.jpg&newest=1

    hey I’m Frank i’m a collector of Magic stuff this sword excaliber i swear would i lie? this necklace came from a guy professor weird something like that and this ring i took it from some dweeb in tights the gun is from two brothers in a black hot rod oh and the little guy on my shoulder thats my pet dragon elvis

  20. Whit says:

    I can’t wait til the save function works. I just accidentally lost (nonconsecutive) hours of work. Grr…

  21. Aw, darn, Whit. I know how that goes. Do you think he can be remade? hey, maybe even improved on! I’ve done that with more than one mishap.

    I’ve found that the saves don’t keep after a browser crash UNLESS you save and refresh the browser during production. A pain, I know, especially with the layer glitch, but in the meantime, the best way to ensure your art’s safety.

  22. The Imp says:

    What I’ve been doing is lay down everything, absolutely everything, in B&W, then do a screencap. Then go in and add your color, patterns, etc. That way, if you lose everything, you’ve got a nice B&W illustration to refer to.

  23. Jeff Hebert says:

    When you do that, Imp, do you notice it slowing down with just the black and white?

    I’m trying to get a feel if it’s a problem with an overall number of items, or if it’s a problem handling transformations (colors, patterns, masking) of those items.

  24. Dan says:

    This is my ‘spellslinger’, conveniently named ‘Spellslinger’. A barbarian highwayman mage in a wild west without guns, he summons magical ammunition out of the air itself. With this power, he can fire off shots so rapidly that an entire convoy can be incapacitated without even realising they’re under attack.

    http://img196.imageshack.us/i/spellslinger2.jpg/

    Just to clarify, it wasn’t an awful attempt at a running pose, just my first attempt at a crouching one. I’d probably rotate the left leg anticlockwise a little more if I hadn’t already closed the window without saving him…

  25. darkvatican says:

    Hey, I’ve got one of these guys already made! I don’t THINK I entered him into the fantasy character contest, so here he is – the green wizard Fanzir, the Wizard of War.

    W/coat & hat: http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=57496&d=1240821827

    W/out coat or hat: http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=57495&d=1240821806

  26. The Doomed Pixel says:

    http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/4893/wizardm.png

    The Wizard knows your pain, the Wizard knows your troubles.
    From his pockets come a range of strange magical baubles.
    All you need to do is ask…

    I decided to throw a steampunk wizard guy out there. h has an aid for everyone’s troubles in his many magical pockets.

  27. The Imp says:

    @Jeff: No, it just seems to be when I add patterns, mainly; occasionally (but not very often) it’ll start lagging when I add color, but only if there’s a lot (a whole lot) of items on the screen.

  28. Jeff Hebert says:

    Interesting, thanks Imp. It does seem to be patterns that are the worst, I can’t figure out why. I wonder if it’s just the pre-set transparent patterns, or the load-in-after Pattern set from the dropdowns.

    That’s why debugging is a pain, you have to try all sorts of things. Sigh. Oh well, thanks for the info, it makes things clearer.

  29. Matt says:

    @Damien. To be truthful I don’t really care where you got it from (although it’s awsome that those are from the FF series :D), I just think that your creations are imaginative and well thoughtout, and thats what I admire about you

  30. Alais Servius says:

    While I’m not entirely happy with it, I figured I’d just upload it and enter the contest anyway. What’s to lose, right? 😉

    http://s620.photobucket.com/albums/tt286/Alais_Servius/?action=view&current=ElynaEpoch.jpg

    And a close-up:
    http://s620.photobucket.com/albums/tt286/Alais_Servius/?action=view&current=ElynaEpochClose.jpg

  31. Hakoon1 says:

    Ok, Close your eyes. Open them. And the Penny’s gone!

  32. Crinold, all entries have to be approved by administration before they can be displayed. There’s no need to submit it 7 times.

  33. Hammerknight says:

    I didn’t know how to do the posting my first time either. I might have did it more then 7 times. But luckily for me Jeff told me in a nice way how is was done.

  34. Hammerknight, you’re absolutely right. Crinold, I would like to apologize for being a bit abrupt in my explanation. I hope we see many more entries, but rest assured, you only need to submit them once. I or Jeff will make sure it gets posted.

  35. Haydnc95 says:

    i have a good idea, well i think its good, for a Contest. How about making a new costume for your favourite Superhero? if it hasnt already been said?

  36. Karasu48 says:

    Here is my character. He is an elven battlemage who lives his life as a hermit, his only item of value being his Scorcerer’s battle staff. He is very powerful, but his heavy exposure to the carnage of battle, the constant barrage of death had steadily driven him insane. He lost his eye, but refuses to repair or replace it.
    http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/110/sariel.png

  37. MartianBlue says:

    So far, I’ve only looked at about 5 or so entrys, hoping I get a chance to enter this one, but don’t know if I’ll have the time.
    @ hammerknight pertaining to Magic Dude, You scare me. lol, when I first saw him I automatically thought his name should be Magic Coat Rack

  38. The Imp says:

    Here’s my second entry – Jeremiah Crow. He’s a modern-day mage who wields enchanted handguns (hey, you said ‘spellslinger’…).

    http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=59258&d=1244695589

  39. Xavier Kain says:

    My Entry into the Spellslinger Contest
    Orc Shaman.
    The Orc Shaman play an important roll in the armies of the Orcish hordes, their Shamanic magic can be used to heal, or enhance the abilities of the army, or to send them into a raging blood lust as well as other abilities that may aid in providing their army with victory. They are not, however to be taken lightly when it comes to pure melee combat, they are warriors as well as spell casters, they are deadly with staffs, clubs, and maces and many carry a weapon that appears to have been crafted from a bear paw which has two long claws affixed to it.
    http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/3280/sscorcshamannopats.png

  40. kk the vamp (my forum name is khaledrocks)) says:

    heres another entry for me
    coat version http://img361.imageshack.us/img361/5188/undeadspellerwcoat.jpg

    wo coat http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/8907/undeadspellerwocoat.jpg

  41. DJ says:

    @Haydnc95

    While that is a great idea and would be fun to do we can’t. Creating a previously copywriter character, even with a slightly different costume, could cause legal problems.

  42. Crinold says:

    Hey sorry about that 😛 I did not know that it had to be approved and just thought there was something wrong with my browser.

  43. Crinold, it’s actually how Jeff’s program works. Anything without a link in it goes up fine, anything WITH a link is held for approval, no matter what, and anything with a bunch of links or a really long nickname will probably get sent to Spam. It’s an imperfect program that way, true, but I’ve been helping Jeff keep his inbox clear for going on two weeks now, since I started this, and he gets a LOT of spam.

  44. Haydnc95 says:

    SERIOUSLY! :O oops! but how am i copyrighting ? its just a magicans assistant! is there any wrong in that!!

  45. Haydnc95 says:

    OOOOOH nevermind, i know what u mean, u mean the contest idea! my bad ¬¬ just ignore it then!

  46. DJ says:

    @Haydnc95

    Haha sorry I should have made myself more clear. My fault.

  47. DJ says:

    http://s670.photobucket.com/albums/vv67/FamilyPhotoBucket1_2009/?action=view&current=MagicHero2.png

    A magical hero in 1800s England known simply as Masquerade. His cane serves as his channel for the magical energy that flows through his body.

  48. Ghöst says:

    These will be two of my entries, I’ll perhaps have a third coming soon.

    http://forums.ugo.com/showpost.php?p=603078&postcount=18

  49. Melis says:

    http://spazticarwen.deviantart.com/art/Spellweaver-125632208

    Iagovalentine chalanged me to use diferent items to create detail work. The embridery at the hem was done with text.

  50. Ghöst says:

    This is an updated thread of my entry, a third Battle Mage was added to the bottom.

  51. kk the vamp (my forum name is khaledrocks)) says:

    heres a new one my third entry hope u like it:
    http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/9471/prehestoricmage.jpg

  52. Ghöst says:

    Oh, whoops it looks like I forgot the link! Anyhow this was the link I mentioned in my last post(71):

    http://forums.ugo.com/showpost.php?p=603078&postcount=18

  53. Abadon says:

    3rd Submission:
    http://s595.photobucket.com/albums/tt36/ThamiorNailo/?action=view&current=DarkWizard2.jpg
    The Dark Wizard
    4th Submission:
    http://s595.photobucket.com/albums/tt36/ThamiorNailo/?action=view&current=OrcSorcerer.jpg
    Orc Sorcerer
    NOTE: However it was that made an orc shaman, I am not copying your idea, I had made this guy before I knew someone else had made an orc.

    Jeff: Will you be converting every item from the HM2.5 to the HM3, or just some of them?

  54. Abadon says:

    Forgot to put this important note in with my last comment. For my entries on photobucket, you may already know this, but click on the image to make it bigger.

  55. Jeff Hebert says:

    @Abadon: Pretty much every item, with some relatively rare exceptions (items that are broken out into two or more pieces, items that can be made by pieces of other pre-existing items like shirts with stars, shirts with stripes, shirts with scales, etc.), and those that are just too stupid to bother with.

  56. marx says:

    When I first saw Damien’s “Epic Fail Monk” in CC5 (#196), I payed more attention to the background than the character.

    http://www.heromachine.com/2009/05/26/character-contest-5-fantasy/

    It wasn’t until Damien’s post in his blog about the Monk’s down-cast gaze that I realized just how ambitious that image was.

    http://www.heromachine.com/2009/06/04/creating-a-character-part-1-thought-processes/

    What can I say? The great ones make it look easy. Damien had integrated the shift in position of the monk’s head so subtly that I didn’t even notice it, much less wonder how he’d pulled it off.

    So anyway, for this contest, I took my inspiration from Damien’s Epic fail Monk. If Damien can make a character looking down, could I make a character gazing UP? Here is my effort. I call it The Spell Weaver.

    http://www.terpconnect.umd.edu/~mshute/spellWeaver.png

  57. Haydnc95 says:

    Hammerknight: AWSOME WITCH! but ive been wondering how u got the top like that, i cant figure out how??

  58. Hammerknight says:

    You mask it to the body and take it down until it fits right.

  59. Whit says:

    (Still wishing I could go to UGO. I wonder if it will let me open a new account…)

  60. IagoValentine says:

    Okay, here we go.

    http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/1148/elfwitchfullbody.png

    http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/2770/elfwitchheadshot.png

    You have searched for hours in the keep only to find it devoid of life. You are about to give up the search when you detect a glowing light from inside the main chamber. Returning, you see a young elven woman, dressed in white. Her eyes are leveled right at you. You attempt to talk to her, but she does not reply. As you turn to leave, frustrated, you hear a roar of flames. Looking back at the elven maiden, you see her hands are now wreathed in vibrant blue flames. She stands before you, an impassive barrier of power.

    Roll for initiative.

  61. The Doomed Pixel says:

    [URL=http://img188.imageshack.us/i/witchdoctor.png/][IMG]http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/5462/witchdoctor.png[/IMG][/URL]

    A Witch Doctor. Don’t really have much more to say.

  62. The Doomed Pixel says:

    Wow, that was a link fail. Here’s an actual link of my Witch Doctor:

    http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/5462/witchdoctor.png

  63. Haydnc95 says:

    Ahhhh, ive been wondering what that does! thanks!

  64. Haydnc95 says:

    ok really crud name, and character ¬¬ best i could do at 3am

    http://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww20/haydnc95/thunderstorm.jpg

  65. Hammerknight says:

    The Orb Wizard. Wanted to do more to him ,but big time crash took everything away, even my saves. Thankfully I print screen before the crash.
    http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=59348&d=1244988826

  66. Abadon says:

    5th submission. Not really the cape I wanted, but the machine crashed and I couldn’t change ANYTHING! Luckily I was pretty much done.
    http://s595.photobucket.com/albums/tt36/ThamiorNailo/?action=view&current=ArgralGodoftheEagles.png

  67. Abadon says:

    6th and final submission.
    He doesn’t have a name, but he is a wizard.Oh, and don’t pet his dragon, you will get bitten!
    http://s595.photobucket.com/albums/tt36/ThamiorNailo/?action=view&current=FantasyWizard2.jpg

  68. Whit says:

    So I can’t make the submissions I wanted to because it doesn’t let you mask multiple items from the same slot onto another item… Grr… maybe next contest…

    I have two big issues with HeroMachine right now. They’ve actually been going on a while, but I oddly hoped they’d go away on their own.

    1) If my cursor gets anywhere near the rotation tool, the rotation jumps around all over the place. It’s nearly impossible for me to set the rotation on an object without losing it and having it jump around.

    2) The response time for the masking tool is *very* slow. It’s hard to know how long to wait before clicking the item. Half the time, I’ve clicked the wrong item because of the way the mask icon jerks around all over the place.

    Thanks

  69. DJ says:

    I way to get around the masking is to have multiple of the same item you want to mask to and just mask each item to the multiple. You don’t have to worry about color because you layer the multples under the original and just layer the masked section up.

  70. DJ says:

    http://s670.photobucket.com/albums/vv67/FamilyPhotoBucket1_2009/?action=view&current=PuppetKing.png

    The Puppet King. A broken soul without a body he has morphed into the very shadows which surround us all. Skilled in mind control and psychic magic he is able to control people to do what he needs to be done.

  71. Whit, I just answered that with some other stuff too in my Bonus blog comments. But DJ has the basic idea. Use multiple items to mask to, because each one will only mask once.

  72. MartianBlue says:

    The Witch Doctor
    http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m189/acebase_2006/Hero%20Forum/WitchDoctor.jpg

    When I heard spellslinger, i thought gunslinger, but instead, he became an indian shaman

  73. Abadon says:

    Ok, so I lied. Here is my final (?) submission:
    Narlar, dark necromancer of the underworld. Behind him stands an altar to the goddess of death. He feeds off the souls of others, making them lifeless animates that do his bidding.
    http://s595.photobucket.com/albums/tt36/ThamiorNailo/?action=view&current=EvilFantasyWizard1.jpg

  74. Hammerknight says:

    Whit you might want to check your settings on you mouse also. My wife has notice that on my computer my mouse works a little different then the one on her computer. I have found that if you work slower with multiples allowing time between it works a little better. As for the rotation , I have the same problem, but I noticed that it happens when I try to rush things. Slow down and give it time.

  75. MartianBlue says:

    The Wizard
    http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m189/acebase_2006/Hero%20Forum/Wizard.jpg

    The pattern, didn’t fill the top of the gold box, but other than that, I’m pretty happy with this design.